The Anonymous Widower

Will The Northern Line Extension Open Before Crossrail?

That is what this article in Global Rail News is saying.

It looks to me like some clever project manager has examined the critical path and found a way to build it quicker.

Or could it be, that Crossrail has shown that digging tunnels through London has got a lot easier since they built the Jubilee Line Extension, as tunnel boring machines are now much bigger and faster? Crossrail have also shown how stations can be built independently of the actual railway, as commercial projects, at the same time as the railway is being dug or fitted out.

From Wikipedia too, it would appear that both station sites are not cramped and hemmed in by existing buildings.

So are we going to have a race between the Northern Line Extension and Crossrail, to see which opens first?

I think that Crossrail will open first, as it is a big project that has almost got successfully past the difficult parts and there are still questions to be asked of the Northern Line Extension, before construction can start.

One thing that might delay the Northern Line Extension is to build the line to Clapham Junction station in the first phase, rather than as a second one.

May 22, 2014 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Construction, Crossrail, London Underground, Northern Line Extension, Trains